


The Chapters in Your Life Entitled San Francisco

by icameisawibored



Category: MASH (TV)
Genre: (I have so many questions about what canon gave them and I am doing my best to answer them), (the rating on this will change eventually), BJ x Peg, Crush at First Sight, F/M, First Meetings, Flirting, Fluff, MASH never knew its own timeline for stuff, Marriage, so I've decided it's okay if I make it the hell up, stoner!Bardonaro has entered the chat (and my heart)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:47:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26122951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icameisawibored/pseuds/icameisawibored
Summary: Several peeks into the pre-Korea life of The Hunnicutts.(song title from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drgWegf-qGc )(reference pics at 4077.tumblr.com)
Relationships: B. J. Hunnicutt/Peg Hunnicutt
Comments: 26
Kudos: 16





	1. A Friday Night in March '47

**Author's Note:**

  * For [justalittlegreen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/justalittlegreen/gifts).



**Chapter One: A Friday Night in March '47**

"Oh, Peggy Ruth..." BJ drew her middle name into three sing-song syllables. **  
**

"Hmm?"

"I think the cookies are burning." 

" _Shoot_ ," Peg whispered, shoving the bookmark back into A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and pushing up quickly from where she'd flopped stomach-first onto the bed. She had only been wanting to finish a chapter but gotten wrapped up in the next one, which now meant a frantic dash to the kitchen. 

BJ sighed softly. He'd been looking forward to those cookies, deeply in need of the sugar high to finish his paperwork for the night. He could have minded them himself, probably, but was too dog-tired to do anything but sprawl on the sofa for a short while, resting his eyes as the radio provided the night's news. Cookies and then finishing up that report and then bed had been the plan, and then up at five the next morning to start all over again. He wondered in jest sometimes if it was too late to toss surgery aside and become a street performer instead. He could hustle cards, maybe, or be a comedian. Whatever let him sleep in. 

He heard the creak of the oven door and muttering in the kitchen, and then Peggy's voice rang out in happy report, "Actually, Doc, I think the patient'll pull through!" 

BJ smiled thinly to himself.

_Just have to scrape off the burny bits_ , Peggy thought as she set the pan atop the stove and made for the bigger window to crank it open. The kitchen was small and the burnt smell tended to linger through the whole apartment if not remedied. And just like every time this happened, she repeated her usual mental mantra: _next year_. 

Next year, they'd have saved up enough for a house, and she'd look for a kitchen that had many windows, not just two. A place with more room to roam than the one-bedroom above an ice cream shop they'd taken in Sausalito so BJ could be walking distance from the hospital. One with a newer stove, and no landlords saying they weren't allowed to remove the wild wallpapers, and spare spaces for an office and a guest room and children someday. A bigger bedroom, too, with a larger closet. Their current bedroom wouldn't have fit two beds even if they'd wanted to stick with that stuffy old tradition. (They hadn't, but she wasn't about to go mentioning that to Pa.) 

Next year. 

Meanwhile, however, they were much better off than a vast amount of people, and she did try often not to lose sight of that, even if it meant the acrid scent would hang in the air longer than she liked. 

With spatula in one hand and oven mitt on the other, she worked at prying the cookies from the pan and had three plated when the phone rang. Peg glanced at the clock and furrowed her brows, thinking 8:42 on the late side for anyone to be calling, but that only meant it might be important. She abandoned the cookie effort for now and made for the wall phone. 

BJ, left arm flopped over his forehead, was grateful she had gotten it rather than make him sit up. The hour _was_ concerning, though. He turned his head on the sofa pillow, gleaning what he could from Peg's side of the conversation, easily heard down the short hallway from the kitchen. 

"Hello?... Hi, Lucy, how are-... Oh, honey, I can barely understand you, I'm sorry... No, no, it's alright, don't apologize, we're not busy. Just take a couple breaths, then tell me what happened..."

Frowning, BJ wondered which Lucy it was. They knew two, Lucy Russell and Lucy Barone, and he'd always had vague suspicions about the Russell marriage that could lead to a bad-news phone call at night and for Peggy's ears only. But whichever it was, whatever they were calling about didn't sound good. 

"Oh, _no_... I can't believe it. That's horrible... Did they say how bad it was?... No, I understand... Is your family-... Tomorrow, alright, well, listen-... No, no, but I'd like to come over until they get back. You shouldn't have to be alone right now. Is that okay?... He has to be up early tomorrow but he can drive me, it's no problem..."

_Oh, sweetheart, don't volunteer me to drive anywhere_ , BJ groaned inwardly, but he could no longer avoid the grave tone her voice had taken throughout the call. He pulled himself into sitting and then up from the sofa entirely.

"No, you sit tight, I'll be there as soon as I can. Do you need us to bring anything, some, some food or... No, I know you can't but you _should_... Look, dear, I'll talk to BJ and be over in a jiffy, alright?... Half an hour at the most... No, don't be silly, I want to... Okay. See you soon." 

Peg hung up the phone and immediately plopped into a kitchen chair, a hand pressed over her mouth, needing a moment for the shock to settle in. 

Hands on his hips, BJ stood in the doorway, concern written on his face. "What happened? Which Lucy was that?"

"Uh, Billy's sister," Peg said, hand dropping to the tabletop. 

_Barone, then. Good_. Not that anything looked or sounded good here, but at least he wouldn't have to knock Eddie Russell's lights out. 

Billy, Peg knew well, had been a sensitive topic once. He wasn't one anymore, that had been years ago and they'd all remained friends, but still it felt strange as much as sad to turn in the chair and tell BJ, "She said he, um, had a really bad car accident tonight."

Even before Peggy had elaborated, BJ's initial grumpiness had softened somewhat, seeing her bite her lip that way that said she was trying not to cry. "Shit," he whispered, stepping over to where she sat and putting a hand to her shoulder. "Is he..."

"Bad shape."

"Well, how bad?"

Peg shook her head. "I wasn't about to press Lucy when she sounded so upset, but... pretty bad."

BJ nodded absently, his general exhaustion now compounded with a little worry for Lucy, Billy, and whatever Peggy may have been feeling about it, given their mostly-casual past. "Is she still over in Larkspur?" he asked. 

Peg nodded. "Yeah, the same house."

"Okay," BJ sighed. It wasn't that long a drive, after all. 15 minutes, maybe, with a quick hop onto the 101. Could have been worse. He didn't _want_ to do it, but emergencies being what they were...

"We can put my bike in the car and I'll ride back tomorrow," Peg suggested. She'd have been happy enough to bike over that night without needing the ride, but BJ liked her biking alone after dark about as much as he liked her driving in the rain, and the car would be faster. 

"Long ride..."

"I know, but I don't work until four, so it's alright," Peg sighed, rising from the chair with a sniffle. "Gosh, poor Lucy. _And_ Billy..." 

BJ caught her lightly by the hips, dipping his head slightly to meet her eyes. "Yeah, but are _you_ okay?"

"Mhmm, I just... It's awful, you know? That he can come back from the war safe and sound and then _this_ happens..." It was unthinkable that fate could do that to someone. It seemed horrendously unfair, and she was reminded again, even though it had little to do with the current situation, how extremely lucky they were that the draft had simply overlooked her husband entirely. "And their poor parents, being on vacation and then having to rush back for such bad news... _And_ I'm sorry to make you drive when you're so wiped..."

Clicking his tongue, BJ reached up and gently pushed his fingers through her hair. "I... don't worry about it. Long week. That's all."

She nodded. _I've noticed._ Residency wasn't easy, and some weeks kicked his butt harder than others, leaving a shadow under his lovely eyes. But instead of her initial thought, she offered him a small, grateful smile, giving the sides of his blue Tattersall shirt a light tug to straighten the fabric of its sofa dishevelment. "I'll go pack for overnight, darling, okay?"

"Lucy's lucky to have a friend like you," BJ said softly, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead. "I'll get your bike in the back. After a cookie or two; I'm sure they're great."

Even in sad circumstances, BJ had a near-perfect success rate for making her laugh. "You tell the sweetest lies, mister," she declared, returning the warmth with a gentle purse of lips against his own before she slipped away and headed for the bedroom. Once packing, she didn't dawdle. Jeans, button-down, a sweater and socks were quickly compiled and placed in her red knapsack, and in case Lucy eventually slept but she herself couldn't, the Betty Smith novel was added. She headed then for the bathroom, scooping up necessities from toothbrush to travel makeup kit, lastly kicking off her house slippers and going in search of real shoes, ones that would suit the bicycle pedals well enough the next day. 

_Poor Billy_ , she couldn't help still thinking as she threw things together. She'd actually liked him a lot once upon a time, but those were musings better saved for if Lucy calmed down and wanted to reminisce together. Not now, when BJ waited downstairs and was probably wishing he was already in bed. 

They didn't talk much in the car. She was lost in thought and he was very focused on driving _very_ carefully, Bill's accident too close to the forefront of his mind. But Peg spoke up as they stopped at a red light near the Bridgeway Inn, a touch of nostalgia for the restaurant in her voice. "We haven't been to the Bridgeway in so long..."

"Yep," BJ said, the P popping before he muttered, "Friday nights aren't what they used to be." 

Peg realized then how that must have sounded. She glanced from the window to look sideways at BJ, reaching over and giving his knee a squeeze. "Oh, darling, I didn't mean it like that." Or she did, but not with any intent to make him guilty about it. 

Right hand rising from the wheel to scratch an itch at the left side of his jaw, BJ sighed softly. "I know, I know," he said, shifting the six-year-old Dodge back into drive as the light changed. "Didn't mean to make it sound like you did, just... I miss date nights, too." 

"We'll find the time soon," she assured despite being unsure when exactly that might be, given both their hectic schedules. His bordered on inhumane while her own, that of an accountant's secretary most weekdays and math tutoring every other weekend or so, proved strenuous sometimes. But when so many women had lost their jobs once the men came home from overseas, again she knew to be grateful. 

Life would ease up on them both once he finished residency. When over-tired, BJ's faith on that point had a way of flagging noticeably, but it was very rare that Peggy seemed as down about it or gave him any hell. He was beyond lucky she had so much compassion and understanding, when many men's wives might have griped to high heaven and endlessly about going out far less than they used to. So he simply nodded, and kept any doubts about her hopefulness to himself.

Every so often as he drove, he glanced over to appreciate Peggy's smile as she admired the stars visible through the redwoods, but he didn't speak again until they'd hit Corte Madera, the drive almost complete. "Hey, do you know where you left your phone book?" 

"Uh..." She had to think about it for a moment. "Kitchen table, I think? What for?"

"I was thinking. On my way back, I could stop in at the hospital," BJ offered, "Find out what kind of shape Billy's in and give Lucy an update." 

Peg reached up behind the driver's seat, fingers stroking BJ's nape lightly. "That's so sweet, but you'll find out just as well in the morning, won't you? You should go home and rest."

"Yeah... Probably right..." 

"I'm always right," she joked before turning more somber. "Besides. I'm not sure it wouldn't make it harder on Lucy, if it's any worse than she already knows." She needed a friend's sympathy and care, Peg felt quite sure, not the clinical approach. Atop that, BJ had never much liked Billy, not really, and it wouldn't be right to let that fact color Lucy's already frightening, terrible night.

"Well... make sure to give her my love, okay?"

"I will," Peg promised, and stroked gently over the back of his neck for the last few minutes of the drive. 

When they reached the Barone house, he wrestled Peggy's bike out of the backseat for her, and kissed her three times before deciding it fine to stop doing so. "Call me when you get home safe tomorrow?"

"Of course, darling," she said. "Hope you sleep well."

"Come on - without you in my arms? I doubt that," BJ said, leaning back against the car and smiling for real for probably the first time in a few hours.

Peg breathed a laugh, shaking her head at him, feeling heat rise to her cheeks. She'd always heard from other and older women things about honeymoon phases, and that the glow would wear off eventually, and so many other negative things about married life. For the most part, when it came to him and not external stresses of the outside world... well, she simply couldn't relate! 

She adjusted the bike's handlebars to face Lucy's house, trying to school her feelings into something more appropriate for the dreadful occasion rather than the first date-like ambience of BJ standing there, looking at her like that. "The feeling's mutual, sweetheart," she said, blowing him one last kiss before starting to walk her bicycle up the drive. "Nighty-night."

"Night," BJ murmured, and didn't move until the door had opened, revealing a tearful Lucy who was enveloped immediately into Peg's embrace. He offered a small, regretful wave, wondering if he shouldn't stay a while and be there for them both.

But he was so damned tired, and Peg understood.

BJ got back into the car, his mind on Billy Barone once more as he turned the ignition. Sure, he'd never been particularly fond of the guy, but he'd never wished him (or anyone) a bad car accident's worth of harm, thus hoped actively that the outcome wasn't too grim. 

And of course, if it _hadn't_ been for Billy all those years ago, he might never have met his beautiful Margaret Ruth Hayden-now-Hunnicutt.


	2. Flashback: A Sunny Day in Sophomore Year

" _On friendship you never should frown, you'll need the same friends on the weary way down_ ," Leo Bardonaro's voice slowed and dipped as he sang and BJ joined in, their duet loud against the breeze that whipped into the car windows. " _Oh, love thy neighbor, walk up and say 'How be ya? Gee, but I'm glad to see ya, pal - how's tricks? What's new?' Love thy neighbor! Offer to share his burden. Tell him to say the word and you will see him through. Especially! If there should be! A beautiful girl next door! Say to that girl next door: 'Now don't think I'm bold, but my mother told me to_ -"

" _Love thy neighbor_..." BJ continued as Leo's voice dropped out, and then was interrupted.

"Hey, speaking of beautiful girls! Why didn't you invite Annie out today?"

"Ehh..." BJ grimaced with teeth, shaking his head in a sidelong look at Leo in the driver's seat. 

Leo laughed. "What, already? Where'd you mess up?"

"I didn't _mess_ up, I just..." BJ sighed, thinking on the right way to put it. "She's nice, and she's cute-"

"Cute? She's a stunner."

"Yeah, fine, but there's more to life."

"You sure about that, bud? I'm not so sure about that."

"She's not very clever, you know?" 

Laughing even harder as he eased the car around a curve, Leo shook his head. "Stanford girls not smart enough for the likes of you, huh?"

"No, she's smart, but-"

"But you're picky!" Leo suggested.

"She wouldn't know a good joke if it... came up and bit her in the neck, let's put it that way."

"Yeah, I can see how that wouldn't work for you..." Leo nodded thoughtfully, then deadpanned, "Or maybe you're not that funny?"

That earned Leo a punch in the arm, but a very light one. "Shut up and drive."

"I'm drivin', I'm drivin'..." 

"Anyway, you're flying solo today, too. Where's Ellie?"

 _Oof. Don't ask_ , Leo thought, and opted to mirror BJ's same, "Ehh..." with a shake of his head. They shared a hearty laugh before Leo shrugged, easy smile ever-present on his face. "Doesn't bother me any, man. Always plenty of girls at the beach." 

"Well, with Vaughn and Barone around, yeah, probably ten hanging off their every word to pick from..." BJ rolled his eyes. They were two of the biggest womanizers in Greek life at Stanford, which made them pretty annoying even if their presence did imply lots of life to any party.

"Vaughn, maybe," Leo agreed. "Dunno about Billy, though. He mentioned his sister and some girl he's been seeing. Peggy, Maggie, something like that, I don't remember."

"Is Dougie coming out?"

"Nah, he said he had a make-up test today."

BJ nodded, and the car was back to companionable silence as the parking lot came into view. They were likely the last of the group to arrive, held back by Leo's meeting with his least favorite professor that morning. The beach wasn't entirely packed, BJ noticed, but there were still a fair amount of people young and old on towels and in the water. "Did George say where to find everybody?"

"He said to look for green and white umbrellas, I think," Leo said as he made for one of the last available parking spots, which seemed tight. "Hey, look out on that side? If I scratch this thing again, my pops'll kill me."

BJ nodded, leaning his head out the window so he could keep his friend out of trouble by means of directing. Once parked, they set to getting the towels and baskets full of necessities out of the backseat, and BJ whistled in appreciation at the sight of a bottle of scotch poking out of one. "Good stuff."

"Oh, but that's not all, my friend," Leo smiled conspiratorially, leaning the basket he held atop the trunk and reaching into his pocket. He pulled out two hand-rolled cigarettes with a grin. "Brought some of the giggle grass, too."

"I'd expect nothing less," BJ laughed, closing the passenger-side door. He indulged far less often, a couple puffs at parties every few months if that, but he didn't go seeking it out the way Leo did. 

"Should we fire it up?" 

"Nah, let's save it for sharing. Doesn't take me much, anyhow," he said, steadying the towels over his arm as they strode away from the car. 

"Yeah, you're a lightweight," Leo teased. "Maybe we should save some for Annie? Then she might laugh at your jokes."

"Ah, lay off it, Bardonaro. I've only been out with her, what, twice?"

Leo chuckled. "Third time's the charm, though."

"Not what I'd call serious, and no, not happening."

"Yeah, you're right. Besides! We're too young to be serious." 

"Damn right," BJ grinned with a single nod in the affirmative. "Hey, maybe _that's_ what you should tell Professor Simmons?"

"Pah, Simmons. He can stuff it," Leo shrugged off his scholastic woes easily. It was too nice a day to care. The sun was out, the only clouds in the sky were fluffy, friendly-looking and few and far between, and he had marijuana in his pocket and more back in his room. All in all, he thought it bound to be a good day.

As they reached the edge of the sand, BJ found himself thinking much the same, taking in the ocean breeze and the loud lap of the waves with the same near-overwhelming appreciation he'd always felt for them, like everything here could be fresh and eternal simultaneously, and that a day at the beach always carried with it a sense of both peace and promise.

They had no trouble spotting the small grouping of green-and-white-striped umbrellas, and George and Tommy throwing a football around nearby, so they made their way over and were immediately noticed, given shouts of greeting and claps on the backs before they set their towels down a couple feet from a gaggle of girls in the umbrellas' shade. George's girlfriend Babs was tossing crackers to seagulls nearby and Lucy, who BJ had met before at a party, was simply a curly-haired head poking out from where two other girls had buried her and were forming the sand over her body in the shape of a mermaid.

BJ grinned at the spectacle as he and Leo set to arranging the big blanket they'd brought. "Afternoon, ladies. How goes it?"

"We're beachy keen!" a blonde in sunglasses and a purple bathing suit said, looking up from the mermaid tail in progress with a broad smile. "How about you?"

BJ breathed a quick, soundless laugh. "Punny!"

"Actually, it's Peggy," she corrected, smiling still. "And that's Lucy and Marian."

"Oh, I know Lucy, but... hi," he nodded, setting a basket at one corner of the blanket to secure it. "BJ, Leo," he tilted his head in his best friend's direction. "How long are you making that tail, by the way? We can scoot over if you need us to." 

"No, you're fine," dark-haired Marian assured, poking a little hole in the sand-mermaid's midsection for a navel, which Lucy watched with a giggle. 

_He really is_ , Peggy thought as she turned her attention back to the tail construction, ignoring that she'd just been slightly dazzled by a smile that didn't belong to the boy she'd come to the beach with. 

Meanwhile, BJ ignored that Peggy's were quite possibly the longest legs he'd ever seen on a girl, and set to settling in properly. Leo was already shedding his shirt, shouting light mockery at George for a bad throw, and they both worked on digging through the baskets. They'd packed sandwiches, cookies, candies and other treats but BJ was more taking stock than anything, not wanting to expose it all to whatever sand got flung their way when the social circle inevitably came to investigate, which happened only a minute later. Their blanket was soon swarmed with friends discussing their weeks and seeking a quick bite, and Leo glanced towards the girls. "Anybody hungry?"

"Some chips'd be nice, sure," Peggy said, wiping sand off of her hands as best as she could.

"Here ya go," he replied, handing over a tin and nudging BJ after. BJ, mid-conversation with George, caught Leo's nudge and nod towards the girls, but it was too late to stop the trick happening. Peggy twisted open the top of the tin, and all the mermaid-makers shrieked when a spring-loaded fabric snake flew out at them. He couldn't help laughing, leaning into Leo who leaned back in his mirth. 

"His fault!" BJ swore through his laughter, pointing at the trickster wheezing beside him. 

"Well!" Peggy huffed, picking the snake up with a playful glare their way, "Whoever's fault, _all_ you've done is provided our mermaid a wonderful necklace!" She tried then to arrange the toy just beneath Lucy's neck, much to the amusement of everyone not busy discussing sports. "There. The very height of deep-sea fashion."

"And we still want chips!" Lucy added, eyes cast downward to watch as Peggy tucked the ends of the fabric into the sand. "But..." she glanced further down at her lack of free hands, "Someone might have to feed them to me..." 

"I could," jock August Vaughn announced with a grin as he and the equally athletic Billy Barone appeared at the blanket's edge, freshly emerged from the water and not caring much who they dripped on as they stood there. 

"You keep away from my sister's mouth, pal," Billy joked, leaning down towards Peggy to grab a towel, scruffing it over his wet hair as he regarded the gang assembled, nodding at the newcomers. "Hunnicutt, Bardonaro - I trust you brought something worth drinking?"

"Sure, if you're discreet about it," BJ nodded, reaching into the basket and pulling up the scotch bottle a few inches for visibility. A merry cry went up through the whole crowd, who then arranged themselves in a tight circle for passing-around, some keeping a careful eye on passersby. Stanford kids simply weren't _seen_ drinking in public, even at the beach, so they endeavored not to be. 

And they certainly weren't seen smoking marijuana, either, yet Leo nudged BJ again. "Hey. BJ. When do you wanna..." 

BJ considered as he swallowed the second half of a cracker. "After a dip, maybe? I'm already getting warm." 

"Yeah, alright," Leo nodded, a hand on BJ's shoulder as he stood from the crush of bodies, trying not to knock his knees into anyone's back. He then held a hand down to BJ to help him rise from the same, and the ladies, of course, politely looked away as they and George stripped down to their swim shorts.

But once they were as undressed as half the group, Peggy was grateful for her sunglasses and that she could cast a surreptitious look BJ's way that nobody would notice before they ran off towards the water. 

"Peggy, darlin', hand me that sun cream?" Billy asked. 

"Hm? Oh, sure..."

And the day at the beach went on.

But as the day went on, Leo noticed something. 

He wondered vaguely if he was the first to notice, if they were even aware of it themselves, the way his best friend and Billy's gal Peggy seemed to gravitate to each other. Once back on the sand and helping Lucy free herself from the mermaid trap, Leo noticed BJ's gaze follow Peggy from head to toe as she stood. Or the way throughout the day, the two found little, frivolous conversational asides and jokes to share. The way that, when the boys assembled to turn the blanket into a makeshift trampoline and together send the girls flying into the air by turns, BJ showed extra concern for the smiley blonde once she was back on solid ground. 

Billy Barone, eyes following any girl that walked by as often as he paid Peggy any real attention, _didn't_ seem to notice, and Leo thought that was good. 

He wanted to ask BJ about it all, or at the very least tease him about it, but a good chance for being out of earshot by themselves was rare. The couple times they oh-so-casually meandered around the big wall of rock to smoke the goodies Leo had brought, others naturally came along and Billy was among them. Trips to the small public building for restrooms or purchasing ice cream and hot dogs were equally a group affair, and no opportunity presented itself. 

Still, Leo noticed. As it turned out, so did Marian, who waited until she and Peggy were alone in the water and mostly recovered from its shocking chill to mention it. "That BJ is awfully cute, isn't he?"

Shivering still in the waist-high water, they kept wading further out. "I... did notice that, yes..."

"He seems to have taken a shine to you."

Peggy blushed. She'd thought as much and was glad she wasn't imagining it, but there were a few points against pursuing anything there. "Maybe, but I'm here with Billy."

"But I thought you said you weren't taking Billy seriously?" 

"Oh, I'm not! Not when his own _sister's_ warned me not to," Peggy insisted. "But still. It'd be rude to just... dart off with someone else when you're out with somebody!"

"If you say so..." Marian taunted. 

Peggy laughed lightly. "I _do_ say so. And you know I'm still not really over how things ended with Paul, and with Billy, it's... It's nicer to go out on weekends than sitting around at home, you know?" 

"Sure, sure..." Marian then partially knelt, dipping her shoulders beneath the water with a small sound of surprise at how chilly it was. Only full immersion might kill the sharpness of it, but she was trying to keep her hair dry. "Still... that boy's got a gorgeous smile."

Giving in then to her friend's obvious support and gushing, Peggy giggled, all too inclined to agree. "Doesn't he?"

"And the rest of him's not bad, either." 

"You... shush," Peggy insisted, blushing a darker shade of pink and sending a light splash of water her bolder friend's way, which served to start a splash war that soon ruined both their intentions of keeping their locks as lovely as when they'd arrived. With that ice broken and the shock of the cold gone by degrees, they began to swim in earnest, feeling as careless and blissful about it as the mermaid they'd tried to depict with sand. They stayed in for a long while, dipping beneath the water and back up between discussions of classes and non-academic school goings-on, leaving the water only when the waves picked up to levels strong enough to risk throwing them off-balance as they waded back. 

But for all Peg's insistence on politeness, the damage had been done. It was always the way of it amongst young people that as soon as their friend picked up on or teased about a budding crush or attraction, that attraction somehow became a more real thing, something more difficult to ignore. When it had all been in her own head that adorable BJ was smiling at her too big, or seemed to cast her curious glances mid-conversation with others, well, that was fine. But now that Marian had pointed it all _out_ , and now that she wasn't wearing sunglasses that would hide the way she'd noticed him, she approached the group rather more shyly and had to _force_ her attention onto Billy chatting with Tommy even if it wanted to wander towards August and BJ, both still sans shirts, as they collected sticks to start a fire later.

"Billy, my towel?" 

"Huh? Oh, sure, babe," Billy said, taking a quick sip from the scotch before handing it to his friend. He leaned back towards the girls' things, picking up her pink towel and tossing it her way. 

"Thanks. Boy, it's getting cold!"

"Eh, sit in the sun a while, you'll be alright," he said, then went back to his discussion. 

_I think I could have worked that out myself easily enough, thanks._ Rolling her eyes, Peggy dried her hair as best as she could as Marian plopped back into one of the chairs beneath the umbrellas. She then took one of the chairs for herself and moved it into the sun, stretching her long legs out and crossing them at the ankle, a hand over her forehead to block the sun as she looked around.

There would still be sun for some time but the crowd was thinning, those who'd started their day at the beach leaving in search of supper or other amusements in their early evenings. The gulls picked through crumbs and containers they'd left behind, mothers encouraged children out of the waves, Babs was trying to keep her ice cream cone for herself despite a playful George grabbing for it, and... and, oh dear, but BJ was smiling her way again.

"Hey! Anyone want to help us find firewood?" BJ called out towards the group several feet away. 

Marian wiggled her eyebrows, giving Peg a look which she ignored, smiling tightly to point of dimples. However, Leo answered BJ's call, handing the bottle back to one of the other boys and heading over. Marian shrugged at Peggy as if to say, _Your loss._ If it weren't for her own interests - at the moment, a boy named Joe and another named Jack - she might have tried to divert his attention herself.

Peg then stood, gathering her towel around her waist and walking the few steps to plop down beside Billy. "You know, you've barely paid any attention to me the whole time we've been here," she said teasingly.

Dark-haired Billy had a roguish smile and he knew it. "Ah, come on, honey. All the guys are here, and you're having fun with your friends, too." 

She supposed that was true enough...

"Besides," Billy continued, sitting up straighter, leaning in to rest his chin on her shoulder. "Come out with me to the lookout later and I'll give you plenty of attention." 

Peggy blushed. _More of it than I want, I'm sure._ "I'll... think about it..."

"You'll think about it," Billy repeated doubtfully with a chuckle, green eyes flashing upwards knowingly. That phrase rarely meant a yes, after all.

"If you'll think about slowing down on that scotch," she pointed out gently. She'd seen him have plenty of it before _and_ after her time swimming with Marian and could smell it on his breath. "Or you'll sister'll be driving us, and not anywhere fun." 

"Ah, I can drive. You worry too much. Ease up, huh?" He patted her knee. 

A sigh sounded in Peggy's head if not aloud, and she was grateful when George and Babs sat nearby and distracted them with talk of what films they'd all recently seen. She contributed a little but ended up with a new distraction, watching BJ temporarily abandon the wood search to help a little boy whose kite had taken a nose-dive. Well, wasn't he just a doll. _Worthy_ of furtive looks, Peggy thought. 

The looks felt less furtive, though, once the boys returned to the group, stacking the wood nearby and reclaiming territory on the blankets and towels. BJ was only a few feet away then, close enough for Peg to notice that his eyes were just as lovely as Frank Sinatra's, and that was a pretty high bar in her mind. When his eyes met her own as he offered chocolate around, Peggy felt herself blush and no-thank-you'd the offer away, pretending the contents of the bag she'd brought along were more interesting.

_Oh, boy. Why'd Marian have to say anything at all?_

She pulled out her brush then and worked on taming her wet hair. Grooming in mixed company might have been frowned upon ordinarily but with everyone some degree of a mess of sand and water, the waves bringing in a breeze that seemed to carry its own sense of free relaxation, it didn't feel like it mattered much. Maybe she'd tangle with bobby pins later, or maybe not. 

In and out of conversations, some about school matters and some laced with jokes that were barely befitting Stanford intellects, BJ did try to ignore the curious appeal of Billy's date. But it wasn't easy. She was so nicely-shaped, and so tall, and when she laughed in mid-hairbrushing chatter with her friends, there was something so light and musical about the sound of it. And he didn't think he'd imagined she blushed when he'd smiled at her. Wishful thinking? It was hard to tell sometimes. And he'd seen her cozy up with Billy, so it wasn't something he should be thinking about at all, not really. But still...

"Oh, I think that was too much sun," Marian sighed, reaching up with red-polished fingers to rub at her forehead.

Peggy frowned. "Headache?"

"Yeah. Might get to be a mean one, too." 

"That's no good..." Especially when they were relying on _Billy_ for a ride back, and Peg wasn't at all sure she trusted his driving after all the drinking (or, if she was being honest with herself, much else about him.) She bit her lip, glancing around the group, and decided to interrupt Lucy's chat with Tom, no matter how wrapped up in it she looked. "Hey, Luce? Marian wants to head home soon." 

"And miss the bonfire?" Lucy asked as she turned partially around to face them. Peg only shrugged, and Marian muttered something about being sure the smoke would only make it worse. 

If Marian's observational skills had changed the course of the day in any way, Leo's were about to do the same but with purpose behind it. "You need a ride somewhere?" 

"Well..." Peggy hesitated, hands wrapped about her knees, debating how not to seem like she was leaping at the chance to subvert Billy's alone-in-a-car-under-the-stars-somewhere hopes for the evening. "It'd be nice, but we're a little ways away..."

"Yeah? How far?" 

"Over by Berkeley."

"Eesh, that's... forty minutes, maybe, round-trip," Leo calculated, then nudged BJ. "What say ya? Up for a drive?" 

BJ whipped his head around from wave-watching, puzzled by his own involvement in this question. "Huh?"

"Berkeley and back. Think we'd make it back by sundown," Leo clarified. 

"I've got gas money," Marian murmured, still rubbing at her head that had begun, just slightly, to pound. 

"Uh... Yeah? Guess so?" BJ blinked at Leo, wondering for a moment if he'd taken an especial interest in Marian or Peggy throughout the day, but he couldn't remember seeing any signs of such. Not that Leo wasn't usually a gentleman, but really, shouldn't they sort of be Billy's responsibility to drive around? But then, Billy Barone was lying now with his head atop his folded shirt, hat over his eyes, and may or may not have been awake still. "So long as..."

"Hey, Barone," Leo kicked Billy's calf lightly. "We're gonna give, uh, Peggy and Marian there a ride back. Okay by you?"

Billy removed the hat from over his face, glancing between Hunnicutt and Bardonaro, half-suspicious but half-grateful, too. Peggy may actually have been a little right that he'd had too much to drink, but... "Yeah, alright," he said after a long moment of squinting at them. "No funny business, though." 

"Hey, hey!" Leo grinned, hands raised. "My funny business is hand buzzers. And've you _met_ BJ? He's never had an ulterior motive in his life." 

BJ didn't think much of this had anything to do with him aside from riding shotgun and playing navigator, but Leo's description still hit him oddly, considering his first thought in response was, _Well... this time I might_. 

He picked his shirt and shoes up from the scattered pile of all the boys' belongings, shook sand out of the shirt, and worked on becoming a non-beach sort of presentable. He glanced over to the girls, already arranging their bags and towels for leaving. "Need help carrying anything?" he offered as he stood.

"No, I've got it," Peggy said merrily, Marian's bags and her own over her shoulders, the single folding chair they'd contributed to the day tucked under her arm. 

"You sure?" 

"Why, does it look like I'm not?" Peggy asked, one eyebrow raised in playful imperiousness. 

"No, no..." He was just thrown, when most girls he'd known would toss their things at you fully expectantly before you'd finished offering, and hid it with a grin as he shook his head. But wasn't chivalry the name of the game itself? She didn't seem to appreciate it, which might have been a bad sign for anything in his head that veered towards an ulterior motive. He discreetly watched her and Marian make brief goodbyes - which he noticed didn't include a kiss for Billy - as he and Leo made their own and promised to be back before the fire was lit.

Marian's headache had worsened by the time they were packed into the car and on the road, which was terrible for Marian, of course, but left Peg to make most of the conversation with the boys. She learned that they were apparently the worst pranksters on their campus (which she believed), that both were apparently not seeing anyone (which she couldn't quite believe but was dropped so casually into conversation that perhaps she did), that BJ was a California native and loved dogs, and that Leo played upright bass well enough to have a jazz group that played out, according to him, 'pretty often.' 

Throughout that conversation, BJ learned plenty about Peggy in turn. That she wasn't a California native, that she was wrapped up in math courses at Berkeley but felt some uncertainty over what she'd end up doing with them, that she and Marian shared an off-campus apartment with two other girls and a cat called Mitzi, and that she thought their jokes were funny but - ouch - not as funny as Bob Hope. 

The chatter veered through several topics and he found he liked her more by the minute, which made reaching their block a little painful. Sure, she and Billy hadn't been overly snuggly, but maybe she was the private type with that sort of thing, not like Lucy who'd hung all over Tommy with relish. And atop that, his being at Stanford and her Berkeley wasn't exactly convenient for picking her up and walking her over for a night out at the club where Leo played most often, or anywhere else. Yet watching her in the side mirror as she made to leave the car...

simply wasn't enough. 

"Oh, hey," he said as he turned in his seat. "Let me help you with that chair this time?" 

"Well... all right," Peggy gave in, _realizing_ then, knowing with actual certainty that... that this wasn't about stereotypes at all, was it? It was merely a neat, handy, little excuse.

Marian sluggishly pulled herself up from the backseat, handing Leo a couple dollars towards the gas (which he waved away) and the liveliest thanks for the ride she could muster, which wasn't very lively at all. She also caught him giving BJ a smack on the arm and a quick grin, something that made her realize she wasn't the only observant one around here, and she smiled despite the headache. 

"I'm off to _bed_ , Peg," Marian announced once she'd rounded the car, wanting to lead the way to give the two of them a moment should they bother to use it wisely. "Can you feed Mitzi?"

"Of _course_. Rest your head," Peggy gave her friend a nod before she wrangled their bags out, letting BJ get the chair. She waved Leo goodbye and said maybe they'd come see him play some night, but couldn't quite meet BJ's eyes the same way as they walked the half-block several paces behind Marian, who Peggy thought had an awfully quick stride for someone with a headache so bad. "Well... thanks again for the ride and everything," she said as they approached the downstairs door that Marian had left open for them. 

"Ah, it was no problem," BJ assured, already dreading that maybe he'd misread everything altogether, and they'd end up parting having said little more. Peggy was holding a hand out for the chair, after all. BJ began to hand it over, another offer on the tip of his tongue because he couldn't think of what else to say, and he was more sure by the second that he wanted to leave here knowing he might see her again, Barone be damned. His arm had already drawn back in to keep the chair to himself. "I can bring it up for you, it's fine."

Peggy's little laugh spoke volumes about how unnecessary that was, but when she got a hold on the chair and he gave it up willingly, she paused and leaned it against the doorway. How did eyes even come in his shade of blue, anyhow? She may not have wanted to seem like she was encouraging him playing the too-chivalrous manly man - he had plenty of charm without it, with that smile and good humor - nor as if she was inviting him up the stairs. Yet she was in no rush to make her way up them, either. 

"Look... BJ..." Gosh, but how would this make her sound? She tried not to worry about that. "I don't know why I'm telling you this, but..." She glanced up from a slightly-bowed head, knowing self-consciously how flirtatious all of a sudden the statement of a mere _fact_ would seem. "I came with Billy to the beach today but it's not... there's not anything serious about it, with him," she ground out but kept her tone light, meeting his eyes again. 

BJ was glad to hear it. A girl like her was lost on Barone, but he hadn't wanted to be the one to say so. "Yeah, I don't know why you'd tell me that, either," BJ smiled - grinning the grin of a complete idiot, he was sure, if _that's_ what rolled off his tongue.

Peggy bit her lip to try to hold back a grin of her own that felt too wide across her face. He was straightforward in the funniest way! "Maybeee..." she trailed off as she turned to pick the chair back up, head tilted cutely back to hold his gaze as she did so, "Because you looked like you wanted to know?" 

_I'd barely have to stoop to kiss you, would I?_ "And you wanted to tell me," BJ pointed out in the same happy bemusement. 

_Oh!_ He was sharp. Sweet _and_ sharp was something she appreciated, but wasn't quick enough to comment on it.

"What about..." BJ had to think about his class schedule for a moment. "Friday? Leo's playing out. And he's actually not bad. Do you have plans?" he asked, his half-wince afterwards a hopeful one.

"Birthday party," Peggy shook her head.

"Ah..." BJ nodded thoughtfully, playing a chin rub for effect. "...are they a _good_ friend, or more an acquaintance thing you could skip?"

It was persistence but it was adorable and funny and not at all offensive, and Peggy couldn't help laughing. "That's... not very nice," she pointed out through the mirth, then straightened her shoulders and sobered enough to ask more steadily, "What about Saturday?

Groaning lightly, BJ rolled his eyes. "So many classes I can't miss." _And actually._.. "I _should_ tell you, too, the medical program's... just this side of grueling, and it doesn't really give us much-"

"Oh? Excuses already?" Peg asked, lips pursed in a play at disapproval.

BJ rushed to say it better, hand a loose fist in the air as if he might snatch back the _seeming_ excuse as he rephrased it. "Well, no, no, Peggy, I didn't mean it like that-"

"I'm _teasing_ you, BJ!" she laughed again. 

"Oh." _Shit, was that aloud?_ "Yeah! You are, aren't you?" And he was utterly charmed by it. She teased him as a friend would, nothing unfriendly in it; there was something so warm in her laugh, clever in her conversation, and so novel about shared laughter -- especially after time spent with Unamused Annie. Not to mention she was built like she was made for him, and didn't look in his estimation like she was wearing too much makeup, and that the light dress she wore did _nothing_ to erase the bathing suit version of her from his mind. 

But she seemed fun to be around, and all they were really doing was lingering in a doorway.

"Well, I'll stop teasing, then," Peggy said simply, turning finally to ascend the first stair, peering back at him over her shoulder. "Let me get this upstairs and I'll drop my number down from the window? You can... call me Saturday," she said decisively, "And we can talk about... maybe making Sunday work!" Why was she so near laughter again? Probably because his eyes really were like Frankie's, weren't they? And he was so perfectly tall, and not intimidated or put off by her at all.

"I'll be here," BJ promised, leaning against the doorframe's exterior side. 

"Gee, I hope not. The window's around the right side," she tilted her head towards that side of the building, holding back further giggles as she made her way up the stairs. Maybe she was carrying a somewhat burdensome load for how skinny the stairwell, but she felt strangely light. 

BJ shook his head as he closed the door for her. _Yeah, she's definitely fun_ , he mused as he rounded the building's right side and searched the windows above for which one would open first. 

Peggy only cracked a window, saying something about the cat getting out that the frame's creak kept from BJ's hearing, and waved lightly as the stationery page drifted downward. The word _flutter_ came to her too easily as she watched it. _That's exactly what this is_ , she agreed with its motion as she watched BJ catch and pocket the paper before he made his way back towards Leo's car.

"So, buddy..." Leo started in on BJ the second he slid into the seat beside him. 

" _Yes_ , I owe you one," BJ said immediately with a smile more sly than the one of moments before.

"Ahh... buy me ten at the wedding," Leo chuckled as his foot met the gas pedal again.

"What the _hell_ , Bardonaro!" BJ sputtered a laugh, face flushing as he reached up and thwacked Leo lightly on the back of his big, giggle-grass-loving head. "Drive, huh?"

"I'm driving! Come on, I'm just teasin' you."

But occasionally on days Leo had smoked, he was convinced he was psychic when it came to future stuff. He wasn't sure what convinced him of that aside from a few weird coincidences. It was a bizarre enough thing that if he laid it on anybody, he'd sound crazy and they'd tell him with something like real disdain to lay off the giggly stuff if he wanted to keep his grades up. 

So he never did. Not even to BJ.

Well, not directly. 

He just called 'em as he saw 'em, or so he thought it better to tell people. 'Cause otherwise, it all sounded kinda spooky.

Nah, most of that was pure Bardonaro bullshit. But if they _did_ get married, it'd make a hilarious version of the story to tell at the wedding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have zero idea if this is any good, tbh!!! An upcoming chapter will have some more of Peg's thoughts at the time, but now -- a D R E A D E D H I A T U S despite the many ideas I have for this - stupid capitalism, work, etc. Will try to find the time even though these two are far, far more sugar than I usually put in my mental coffee. More drabbles forthcoming but alas the Hot MASH Summer, along with writing time for a while, is at an end. :( May add a tiny addition to TMD (will note in summary if so), also have a heartwrenchingly angsty plotbunnicula from the very depths of post-GFA hell bouncing around in head, but it'll be a while. 
> 
> Lots of love to the readers and commenters, and may fall and winter of this fuckwallop of a year be kind to you all!


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